Sekthaus Raumland "Cuvee Katharina" Brut 2012
(Rheinhessen, Germany) - [WE 93]

About the Winery:

In 1990, Sekthaus Raumland was founded by Volker Raumland, often described as the pioneer / the grandseigneur / the Sektpapst in Germany. Volker Raumland is the one who dared to start a new “quality revolution” in German Sparkling Wine. The two daughters Marie-Luise and Katharina are joining the family estate in 2020, continuing with the same passion and love for high-quality German sparkling wine that their parents had and still have.

Sekthaus Raumland, located in Flörsheim-Deidesheim of the Rheinhessen, is purely focused on the production of Sekt and thus the whole work is organized around and adjusted for the elaboration of the most delicate and finest sparkling wines.

The process is very carefully hand selected and harvested manually. The grapes are placed in small 15 kg boxes to assure that none of the fruit is damaged. Grapes are picked at 75 to 80 Oechlse, the optimum must weight for sparkling wine. Whole cluster pressing is used to preserve fruit aromas with no maceration, no mashing and no pumping of the juice. Only the best part of the grape – the “Cuvée” – is used. It takes up to 4 hours to run the whole cluster press program which involves the careful segmentation of the juice into “Cuvée” (roughly 50% of the most) and “Taille” (roughly 10-20%). To control phenolics the press is stopped after the last “Taille” run. After primary fermentation, blending (assemblage) and bottling, the second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle (traditional bottle fermentation). The sparkling wines are stored in a four stories deep cellar to achieve optimum ripeness and “pin point” mousse. The sparkling wines are continuously monitored and tasted to assure optimum quality. The factor “time” plays a role of paramount importance for Raumland’s sparkling wines. The “youngest” Sekt lies on lees for a minimum of 4 years, the most prestigious Sekt even up to 15 years (without losing its freshness and crisp character). All the Sekt receive a low level of dosage (all < 6g) to not hide its natural taste.

Ratings & Reviews:

93 Points - Wine Enthusiast

"Hints of mushroom, toast and sweet biscuit lend warmth to apple and raspberry in this blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Made in the traditional method and disgorged after five years on the lees, its bubbles are fine yet persistent, expanding into a soft pliant mousse. Spine-tingling acidity and delicate red-berry sweetness linger through a long finish." Anna Lee C. Iijima